The best money exchange rates in Bangkok; Super Rich

Video #9 | October 26, 2017

In this video we’re going to to cover the Thai currency, and where to get the best money exchange rates in Bangkok.

The video is broken into the following sections.

– A brief overview of the Thai currency, baht.
– Where to get the best foreign exchange rates when you change your money in Bangkok.
– My personal favorite currency exchange shop, the oddly named; ‘Super Rich’.
– How to get to the Super Rich money exchange branch at The Emporium shopping mall, and what it looks like.

Click on the following link to check out more on Money And Banking in Bangkok.

#VIDEO TRANSCRIPT#

Alrighty then! Welcome to the ninth video of Bangkok Unmasked! The YouTube channel that helps you get the most out of your visit to Bangkok city! If you’re new here, please consider subscribing! In this video I’m going to cover the Thai currency, and where to get the best money exchange in Bangkok.

Before I begin, this video will be broken down into 4 sections:

Section #1. A brief overview of the Thai currency, baht.
Section #2. Where to get the best rates when you change your money in Bangkok.
Section #3. My personal favorite currency exchange shop, the oddly named; ‘Super Rich’.
Section #4. How to get to the Super Rich branch at The Emporium shopping mall, and what it looks like.

Let’s get started!

The Thai currency is named Baht, and it’s subdivided into 100 satang. The issuance of the currency is managed by the Bank of Thailand. Interestingly, according to SWIFT, the Thai baht is ranked as the tenth most frequently used world payment currency! As an aside, you can actually use it around South East Asia, and I have personally used Thai Baht in Burma, Cambodia and Laos.

The Thai baht, like the British pound, originated from a unit of mass. One Thai baht was originally expressed as 15 grams of silver [in the form of ‘bullet coins’]. Today Baht weight is still used when buying and selling gold.

If you’re completely new to Bangkok, you’ll want to know what Thai currency looks like, so let’s take a look!

What I’m going to do is go through the bank notes in sequence. We’re going to go from the highest value banknote to the lowest value coin. So we start with 1,000 Baht, which is a silver colored banknote. Then we move to 500 Baht which is a purple colored banknote. Then we move to 100 Baht which is a red bank note. We have the 50 Baht which is a blue colored bank note. And finally for bank notes, we have 20 Baht which is a green colored bank note. There’s also coins. We have then 10 Baht coin which is gold on the center, silver on the outside. We have the 5 Baht coin which looks round, but it’s like an ‘octagon’ sort of shape. We have the 2 Baht coin which a gold color. Circular. We have another 2 Baht coin which is the same size, and also circular. We have the 1 Baht coin which is a bit smaller than the 2 Baht coin and also silver. And finally we have ‘satang’ coins. We have this one which is a 50 satang coin. And this one which is very, very small. This is 25 satang. We’ve got to be careful with these two coins. This is the 2 Baht and 1 Baht coins. As you can see they basically look the same. It’s just the size that’s a tiny bit different, so it’s very easy to get the two confused.

One note. A lot of small shops will refuse to accept payment in satang coins. Next, let’s take a look at where to get the best rates when you change your money in Bangkok.

Next, let’s take a look at where to get the best rates when you change your money in Bangkok.

Through the city of Bangkok, you can easily find a money exchange booth! They are dotted around the city, and literally on every street corner in the central area, Sukhumvit and Silom, in the form of large currency exchange centers, and small money changer kiosks. They are all licensed.

Foreign exchange service providers in Bangkok can be categorized into 3 groups; money exchange booths operated by banks, currency exchange chains, and independent money changers. The rates vary between different providers, and also between different branches of the same chain. What’s important to note is that currency exchange chains and independent money changers have better rates than the established Thai banks. All 3 groups will happily take bank notes in all the major currencies, as well as travelers checks, if you’re nervous about carrying too many bank notes with you. You won’t have any problems exchanging bank notes in the following currencies to Thai baht:

• USD [US Dollars]
• GBP [British Pounds]
• EUR [Euros]
• AUD [Autralian Dollars]
• JPY [Japanese Yen]
• MYR [Malaysian Ringgit]
• SGD [Singapore Dollars]
• HKD [Hong Kong Dollars]
• TWD [Taiwan New Dollars]
• KRW [Korean Won]
• CNY [Chinese Yuan]

An important tip; converting currency in Bangkok will always get you more baht than in your home country. [I know from bitter experience that British banks have horrible rates when you exchange GBP for THB]. Even if you engage a Forex service at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport, which generally has far worse rates than what you can find in the city, you’ll be far better off. What I suggest is that at the airport you exchange enough money to last you for a day or two, and then exchange the remainder of your money at a currency exchange chain or an independent money changer in the city.

Another important tip; make sure that your passport is with you when you show up at a money changer. Most will demand to see it, as it’s legally required.

The following currency exchange shops are all solid options; Super Rich, Super Rich 1965, Vasu Exchange, SIA Money Exchange and X-One Currency Exchange Center. For what it’s worth, I recommend Super Rich, and have used their services many times over the years. You can find them in the following locations.

1. The head office; 45 Soi Rajdamri 1, which is opposite the well-known shopping mall Central World.
2. The basement floor of the Emporium shopping mall. [Which is easily accessed from ‘Phrom Pong’ BTS station].
3. The 3rd floor of Siam Paragon shopping mall. [Which is easily accessed from ‘Siam’ BTS station].
4. The BTS station ‘Chong Nonsi’.’

I find going to the Emporium shopping mall location the easiest, as this is the shopping mall I visit most. Here’s what this location looks like, and how to get there.

First you get off at ‘Phrom Pong’ BTS station. Then you head towards exit number 2 in the station. When you exit the station you can immediately see the Emporium Shopping mall on the left hand side. And this is the entrance. Now we need to head towards the basement level. Super Rich is on the basement floor on B1. And you can see it once you get to the bottom of the escalator. This is a shot outside Super Rich and as you can see there’s a short queue. The queue is much better here than at head office. And inside the small office you can see the current exchange rates and the girls that are working inside the booth.

Anyway…That’s it for this video. Expect a new video shortly. [It should be posted in about a week, or so].

For all you techies out there, this video was shot on a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, and edited using HitFilm Express.

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